Phillips abbott



(No Model.)

P. ABBOTT.

PAPER BOX MACHINE.

Patented Apr. '22, 1884.

INVBNTOR WITNESSES N. PETERS. PhowLithcgnphar. Wmhmgtm ma NrrE TartsPAPER=BOX MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 2537,48i, dated April22, 188%.

' Application filed August 21, 1883. (No model.)

all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PHILLIPS ABBOTT, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Paper-Box Machines,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful device for severing the paper,cloth, or other covering, or covering and trimming material used tocover paper and other boxes, and their covers, and is intended to beused on a box covering and trimming machine similar to those describedin the United States Letters Patent granted to Gordon Munro, dated July26, 1881, No. 244,919, for improvement in box-Inachines, and also UnitedStates Letters Patent granted to Horace Inman for improvement inpaper-box covering and trimming machine, dated February 14, 1882, No.253,711. I refer to these patents for a description of these machines,and therefore do not particularly describe them here. I do not, however,limit myself to the use of my invention on such machines, because it isapplicable in whole or in part to many other uses. In this specificationthe word box is used to indicate box or cover.

Prior to my invention various cutters or knives have been used inmachines of the class referred to sever transversely to its length thepaper or other covering, or covering and trimming material after it hasbeen coated with glue or paste, and before it is wound upon the box. Butin all such cutters of which I have knowledge the 1noving-knife, whetherin the form of a rotating disk or a blade, has cooperated with a ledgeror counter blade, between which and the moving knife the strip ofglue-coated material passes. Under this arrangement one or the other ofthe two knives or blades which make up the cutter is necessarily broughtinto contact with the glue-coated face of the strip to be severed, theconsequence being that the paste or glue is scraped off to a certainextent, and adheres to the blade, thus gumming and fouling the cutterand interfering with its operation.

It is my object to obtain an efficient form of cutter which will not beopen to the foregoing objection. I find that I can accomplish my objectby making use ofa single-bladed cutter having no co-operating counter orledger blade, and arranged to act against the unglued or unpasted faceof the strip. The cutter acts intermittently and at the proper timeagainst this face of the strip at a point intermediate between thebox-form and the support from which the strip passes to said form, andit remains free from paste or glue because it never comes in contacttherewith. The paper at the time it is to be severed is under tension,or stretched, between the boxform and the support from which it passesto the form, and by the action of the singlebladed cutter, broughtquickly into contact with its unpasted or unglued face, is severedtransversely at the proper point without gumniing the cutter. Thesupport from which the strip passes to the box-form is usually the finalroller of the machine; but it will of course be understood that anyother support may be employed which will preserve substantially theabove-stated conditions. \Vhat is essential is that the single-bladedcutter, by which I intend and mean a cutter which has no co-operatingcounter or ledger blade or bar, should act against the unglued faceofthe strip at a point intermediate between the box form and the supportfrom which it passes to said form, and that that portion of the stripextending between these points should be sufficiently tense or free fromslack to permit the cutter to act efficiently. WVith a view to assuringthe revolving box-form in the position it should occupy when the cutteris about to 'act, I combine with it a detent, which at the proper pointduring its revolution comes into play, and serves to maintain it in there qui'red position relatively to the cutter. This detent mayconveniently consist of a spring click or pawl adapted to engage anotehformed at the proper pointin the hub or shaft of the box-form; and inorder that the relation of the box-form to the cutter may be preservednotwithstanding variations in the size of boxes, I make the formadjustable both vertically to and from the cutter, so that although thesize of the form may vary it can be adjusted to its proper position withrespect to the cutter.

In the following figures like letters indicate like parts.

Figure 1 illustrates a side plan view of the invention. Fig. 2illustrates a front View of 6 illustrates the operation of theinvention.

when round boxes are being covered or covered and trimmed.

A A represent the frame and legs of the machine. It may be made of anydesired ma- I terial and in any desired form.

B B are two rollers, those nearest the boxform, under and over which thecovering and trimming material passes, or the covering material alone iftrimming be not used. It is not essential that the rollers B and Bshould be present in the machine, but 13 or its equivalent is desirable.

O is the box-form, which may be revolved by hand or power, as desired,on its shaft D, which passes through the end of the box-supporting arm'1 E. This arm is made in two parts for the purpose of adjustment, ashereinafter explained. It may be adjustable laterally across themachine, as set forth in the said Inman patent, if desired. The roller Bis corrugated, so that the pasted side of the paper, which comes incontact with this roller, shall adhere thereto as little as may be, andthese corrugations, instead of running parallel with the axis of thisroller, maybe applied to it in spiral form, so that there shall not beany jerking of the covering and trimming material, which sometimes takesplace when the adhesive material is very strong, consequent upon itsjumping, as it were, from one corrugation to the next one. The supportfor the roller 13 is, preferably, the support for the knife also. It isseen at F. There may be separate supports, however, if desired.

G is the knife, the cutting-edge of which is serrated or toothed, theedges of the serrations or teeth being, preferably, sharp, so that afterthe points of the teeth have punctured the paper or other material itmay be completely severed by a cutting in preference to a tearingaction. Knife G is supported at one end by an arm, H, which is pivotedat the upper end of the support F, and concentric with the pivot agrooved wheel, I, is fastened to the arm H; over which a strap or othersuitable pulling device, 1', is passed and fastened to it near its underside. This is simply for the purpose of getting a continuing crankaction, and any other suitable device may be used. The strap or itsequivalent is fastened to the lever J, which is pivoted at its back end,as seen at j, and, preferably, for the purpose of smooth action, passesthrough a slot, j, in the support F. A foot-treadle or a straightpull-rod, or any other suitable device, may be substituted for the leverJ anything which will give the required movement to the knife. The knifemay be supported by two arms instead of one,

' if preferred, they being preferably connected by a cross-shaft, asseen in Fig. 4.

K is a retractile spring, which is fastened at one end to any suitablepart of the machine and at the other to the wheel I, or to the arm II,so that when the knife has been brought down by the lever J the springwill draw it back again into proper position for the next stroke. Theknife should be made of material stiff enough to withstand thecentrifugal action of the arm H when operated or braced if made of thinmaterial.

It is desirable that the box-form should attain such a position relativeto the knife that 'the material shall be out as near one of the cornersof the box as may be, so that but little paper will be wasted in theoverlapping, and also so that the paper may be more rididly stretched orsupported, owing to the proximity of the corner of the box. I thereforemake the arm which supports the box-form in two parts. One of them, E,is provided near its outer end with a strong binding thumbscrew andbolt, L, and the other part, E, has a slot out in it lengthwise, throughwhich the binding-bolt passes. Thus the box 011 the form, irrespectiveof its size, can be adjusted in relation to the knife so that the sweepor track of the knife will be adjacent to the corner of the box when itis operated, as hereinafter set forth. In order that there may be nodanger that the stroke or pressure of the knife (especially if thecovering or trimming material be cloth or like tough substance) maycause' the box form to turn backward instead of severing the material, Iform on the shaft of the box-form a single indentation or tooth, as seenat m in Fig. 3, and into this in dentation a spring-click, n, which isfastened to the arm E, drops at each complete revolution of thebox-form. The click engages with the indentation m, and prevents thebox-form from turning backward; also, the noise which the click makeswhen it drops into the depression intimates to the operator when to workthe knife. The click serves another useful purpose as wellz'. 6., itholds the box-form steady while the paper is being first applied to thenext box, thus making this operation more easy and accurate. The end ofthe click should be so shaped relative to the indentation or tooth inthe shaft that the box-form can be turned toward the operator, the clickrising out of the indentation, but not in the opposite direction; also,the location of the indentation or tooth on the shaft should,preferably, be such relative to the box-form itself that it (thebox-form) will be in substantially the position shown in Fig. 1 at thetime the click engages with the indentation, so that the aboverecitedoperation and relative position of the parts may be secured; and whenround boxes are being covered, or covered and trimmed, the indentation'or tooth should be so located that the click shall engage with itbefore the paper or other material has adhered to the box throughout itsentire circumferencethat is to say, about one-eighth of the papernecessary to go completely around the box should be between the placewhere the knife cuts it and the'place where it has then come in contactwith the box-and the operator in applying the paper to the next box willapply it about one-eighth the entire circumference of the box nearer tohim than where the overlap of the ends took place on the box he lastcovered. This is illustrated in Fig. 6. The operator applies the paperto a new box always, say, at the point marked 1. When the paper soapplied has in the revolution of the box reached the point marked 2, theclick will engage with the indentation and the knife will be operated,cutting off sufficient paper to complete the covering of that box, whichis smoothed down bythe hands of the operative, as usual, and the box isremoved.

In Fig. 4 I show another form of knife. stead of being straight on thecutting=cdge and serrated, the edge is made smooth and sharp and in theform of an obtuse angle, the point of which will first puncture thematerial, and then the receding side edges will complete the severance;also, aknife such as shown in Fig. 5, being a serrated disk, asshown,which travels across the paper on suitable ways, may be used, thecontrolling idea in my invention being to provide a device whereby thebox-cov ering material used on the machine stated, which mustbe pastedor glued on one of its sides, may be readily and quickly severed trans-Versely of the length of the material,whenever desired, and at anypoint, and to so construct the devices as to accomplish the disunion ofthe material'by means of a single severing-edge act 1 ing against theunpasted or unglued side of the material, and relying on the resistanceof the material to this edge to effect its severance, and not using anycounter or duplicate cutting-edge whatsoever, because, as alreadystated, it is the presence of such duplicate cutting-edge which createsthe difficulty, because of the accumulation of paste or glue upon it.

The covering, or covering and trimming material, is shown at X.

' The operation is very simple. After the covering or covering andtrimming material has been wound on the box, as desired, the operatorsimply strikes the lever J with his hand, which, acting through the cord2' and the grooved wheel I, brings the arm H and the knife G sharplyforward, which, striking the material on its unpasted side in itsdescent, cuts it off. The spring K then retracts the arm and knife readyfor the next occasion. If 'a very tough material be used to cover ortrim the boxes, or if some stiffening substance such as a cordbe runwith the covering or trimming material, then it is sometimes desirablethat the knife should strike with more rapidity and force than will beconveniently possible by the use of the devices shown. In this event astrong spring may be used as the power to throw the knife, it beingretracted by the use of the lever J box-form has completed arevolution;but this l I consider dangerous to the hands of the operator. I howeverdo not disclaim my improved device when used with these attachments.

I do not limit myself to the details of construction shown,-since theymay be quite extensively varied and yet my invention be embodied.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In box covering or trimmingmachines, the combination, with the box-form and the support from whichthe glue or paste coated strip passes to said form, of a single-bladedcutter arranged and operating to act against the unglued face of thestrip at a point intermediate between said box-form and support,substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination, substantially as herein before set forth, of therevolving box-form, the a detent therefor, thesupport from which theglue or paste coated strip passes to the said form, and thesingle-bladed cutter arranged and operating to act against the ungluedface of the-strip at a point intermediate between said support andbox-form.

3. The combination of the box-form adj ustable relatively to the cutter,substantially as described, the support from which the glue or pastecoated strip passes to said form, and the singleblad ed cutter arrangedto act against the unglued face of the strip at a point intermediatebetween said support and adjustable box-form, substantially ashereinbefore described. I

4. The combination of the revolving boxform adjustable relatively to thecutter, substantially as described, the detent therefor, the supportfrom which the glue or paste coated strip passes to the box-form, and asinglebladed cutter arranged and operating to act against the ungluedface of the strip at a point intermediate between the said box-form andsupport, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

5. The combination of the knife G, the arm H, the wheel I, the lever J,the cord 1 and the spring 70, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

Signed at New York, in the county" of New York and State of New York,this 17th day of August, A. DQ1883. 1

PHILLIPS ABBOTT.

lVitnesses:

JOHN H. Ivns, WALTER H. CRITTENDEN.

IIO

